Unemployment rate among Saudis falls to all-time low at 8%

30/03/2023 Argaam Special
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag


The unemployment rate among Saudis dropped to the lowest ever level, based on the data available since 1991.

 

It fell to 8% in the fourth quarter 2022, from 9.9% in the previous quarter, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ (GASTAT) Labor Force Survey. 

 

The Kingdom targets an unemployment rate of 7% by 2030.

 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman earlier said that the Kingdom seeks to cut the jobless rate to 4-7% in line with Vision 2030, and will achieve this level before 2030.

 

The unemployment rate among Saudi males reached a lifetime low. It also retreated to 15.4% among Saudi females, the lowest level ever, based on GASTAT’s data since 1999.

 

The labor force participation rate among Saudis was steady on a quarterly basis at 52.5% in Q4 2022.

 

The overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia in working age declined to 4.8% in Q4 2022, from 5.8% in Q3 2022, GASTAT added.

 

The following table illustrates the changes in unemployment in Saudi Arabia:

 

Unemployment Rate in Saudi Arabia

Period

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate among Saudis

Q1 2017

5.8 %

12.7 %

Q2 2017

6.0 %

12.8 %

Q3 2017

5.8 %

12.8 %

Q4 2017

6.0 %

12.8 %

Q1 2018

6.1 %

12.9 %

Q2 2018

6.0 %

 12.9%

Q3 2018

6.0 %

 12.8%

Q4 2018

6.0 %

 12.7%

Q1 2019

5.7 %

12.5 %

Q2 2019

5.6 %

12.3 %

Q3 2019

5.5 %

12.0 %

Q4 2019

5.7 %

12.0 %

Q1 2020

5.7 %

11.8 %

Q2 2020         

9.0 %

15.4 %

Q3 2020

8.5 %

14.9 %

Q4 2020

7.4 %

12.6 %

Q1 2021

6.5 %

11.7 %

Q2 2021

6.6 %

11.3 %

Q3 2021

6.6 %

11.3 %

Q4 2021

6.9 %

11.0 %

Q1 2022

6.0 %

10.1 %

Q2 2022

5.8 %

9.7 %

Q3 2022

5.8 %

9.9 %

Q4 2022

4.8%

8.0%

 

Saudis account for 53.1% and 46.5% of the labor force in the public and private sectors, respectively. On the other hand, non-Saudis employed in the private sector represented 71.6% of total.

 

Details and historical data for Macro Economy

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